For the first time since the promulgation of the constitution by the Constituent Assembly in Chitwan-3, the Congress and the UML have fielded candidates. The election interest is more in the candidates of the NCP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Renu Dahal has resigned from the post of mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City and has become the candidate from the NCP. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has given a ticket here to Sobita Gautam, who was elected from Kathmandu-2 in 2079 BS.

Chitwan-3 is the constituency where NCP coordinator (then Maoist chairman) Pushpa Kamal Dahal won the election for a member of the House of Representatives in 2074. At that time, UML supported Dahal. Congress voted for the RPP candidate.

In the 2079 election, Congress and Maoists reached an agreement. UML did not field its own candidate, supporting Congress rebel Dinesh Koirala. Due to this, Congress-UML voters were not able to vote on their own election symbol. The winner was Bikram Pandey of RPP.

In the upcoming election from Chitwan-3, NCP's Renu (49), RSP's Sovita (30), along with Tek Prasad Gurung (77) from Congress, Shankar Raj Thapaliya (56) from UML, and Deepak Thapa Magar (47) from RPP are candidates.

Thaman Singh Sunar from JSP, Badri Laxmi Kawan from NEMKIPA, Krishna Bahadur KC from Rastriya Janamorcha, Briddhiraj Tamang from Pralopa, Tek Bahadur Tamang from Mongol National Organization are the candidates. 

Jit Bahadur BK from CPN-Syukta, Bijan Gurung from Rastriya Nagarik Party, Setimaya Tamang from National Republic Nepal, Tojman Gurung from Shram Sanskriti Party, Ashik Prasad Mahato from CPN-Maoist, Dambar Bahadur Tamang from Ujjaya Nepal and Harimaya Mahato from Nagarik Unmukti Party have filed their candidacies.

Indramaya Poudel, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, Parbati Poudel Kafle, Madhumaya Adhikari, Ranjana Poudel and Rol Bahadur Gurung have filed their nominations independently.

Congress and UML workers are excited to have their parties field candidates after a long time. In Chitwan-3, the Congress was previously considered strong, but there was dissatisfaction after the center decided to support another party in the elections.

In the 2074 and 2079 elections, the candidates of the parties with which the Congress formed an alliance were defeated. The Congress was also losing votes because it did not field candidates in the alliance. In the last election, the Congress came fifth in Chitwan-3 under the proportional representation system.

The voters of Chitwan-3 are expecting the main competition to be between the NCP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) candidates. NCP candidate Renu won the Bharatpur Metropolitan City Mayor election in 2074 and 2079. The case of ballot paper tearing became a hot topic when the counting of votes was nearing the end in the 2074 Bharatpur Metropolitan City election.

When it seemed that Renu would lose, the then Maoists were accused of tearing the ballot paper and conducting a re-vote and getting elected.

At that time, the then Maoist chairman Dahal was the Prime Minister, and there was coordination with the Congress in the local elections. After the re-election, Renu won by 43,127 votes, while her nearest rival, UML's Devi Gyawali, got 42,924 votes. Renu was supported by the Congress. 

In the 2079 local level elections, Renu won by a wide margin. In coordination with the Congress, she got 52,282 votes, while her nearest rival, UML's Vijay Subedi, got 39,582 votes.

According to the residents of Bharatpur, under Dahal's leadership, when he was the mayor for 8 years twice, there was a wave of development and construction in Bharatpur. There are many voters who believe that the merit he has given to the metropolis should be repaid through votes. Renu also has experience as a member of the Constituent Assembly. 

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) candidate Sobita is seen as a strong competitor. In the 2079 elections, she was elected in Kathmandu-2 by getting 15,238 votes.

At that time, she defeated former Speaker Onsari Gharti, the candidate of the Congress-Maoist alliance, UML candidate Maniram Phuyal, and RPP candidate Kuntidevi Pokharel. Phuyal had received the second highest number of votes in Kathmandu-2 with 11,566 votes. 

Sobita from Dolakha district chose Chitwan-3 this time, leaving behind RPP candidate Sunil KC in Kathmandu-2. Gautam, who holds a master's degree in law, married Grihendra Ghimire of Chitwan while serving as an MP. 

There are 155,309 voters in Chitwan-3. In the previous election, there were 144,283 voters in this area. The entire Madi Municipality and 20 out of 29 wards of Bharatpur Metropolitan City fall in Chitwan-3. 

RPP leader Bikram Pandey had won here in the 2079 House of Representatives election by getting 35,60 votes.

The nearest rival, Bhojraj Adhikari of the Maoists, got 25,824 votes. Jita Baral of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) got 14,843 votes. In the election, the RSSP came third in Chitwan-3, while the RSSP President Ravi Lamichhane won in Chitwan-2 and the RSSP leader Hari Dhakal won in Constituency No. 1. 

Dinesh Koirala, who rebelled against the Congress and ran as an independent candidate after the alliance with the Maoists, got 12,275 votes. He was supported by the UML. According to the analysis of the locals, Koirala, Pandey and Baral received dissatisfied votes after the main parties, the Congress and the UML, did not have candidates.

The RSSP, which came third in the last election, received the highest number of 28,401 votes in the proportional representation. The RPP got 16,755 votes, the Maoists got 16,900 votes, the UML got 14,522 votes, and the Congress got 10,524 votes. 

In Chitwan-3, in the 2074 election, the then Maoist chairman Dahal won by getting 48,276 votes in an alliance with the UML. In the alliance with the Congress, Bikram Pandey got 38,935 votes. 

In the 2079 local level election, Congress' Chitrasen Adhikari won the post of Deputy Mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City by getting 52,830 votes. RPP candidate Himla Gurung got 30,611 votes. Most of the ward chairmen were elected from the Congress. 

In Madi Municipality, UML candidate Tara Kumari Kaji Mahato won by getting 9,911 votes. At that time, Maoist candidate Rishiram Kafle got 7,729 votes.

When Congress' Khem Prasad Mahato won the post of Deputy Mayor, RPP's Madan Prasad Poudel came second. Out of the 9, Maoist candidates won in four and ward chairmen from the Unified Socialist Party won in two. The Maoists and the Socialist Party have now formed the CPN.

During the armed conflict, the then Maoists had detonated an explosion in Madi's Bandarmudhe, killing 38 people.

Kamala Kafle, 46, of Madi-7, who was met a few days ago near the explosion site, said that she had suffered from the Maoists and now from wild animals during the conflict. 'Every year, wild animals cause damage to people, crops and domestic animals. This time, we have decided to vote for a leader who will protect them from damage,' she said. 

Kamala Kafle, 46, of Madi-7, who was met a few days ago near the explosion site, said that she had suffered from the Maoists and now from wild animals during the conflict. Prabin Adhikari, 28, of Madi, says that in the election for members of the House of Representatives, we should vote for a capable candidate who can enact laws faster than development. 'Bridges and roads are also built at the local level. 

MPs should be able to give the laws that the country needs,' he said. Dissatisfaction with the old parties and hope for the new parties and their candidates are also visible in Madi.

Adhikari, however, does not think that the vote will change in a way that will affect the traditional vote. ‘There is a kind of rumor and atmosphere all over the country, but it may not last until the election day,’ he says. 

Krishna Prasad Adhikari, a victim of the Bandarmudhe incident, seems dissatisfied with all the new and old parties. When he was met at home in the evening, he complained that no one took the initiative to investigate the truth and facts of the incident and provide justice.

‘The leaders of the Congress, UML, and Maoists lied that they would provide justice,’ he said, ‘no one paid attention to the livelihood of the injured and the deceased.’ He said that the policies and programs of the newly formed parties also lack clarity. 

He believes that the MP who wins the election from Chitwan should investigate the Bandarmudhe incident through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and bring it to a conclusion. On 23 Jestha 062, a public bus going from Madi Bagai to Narayangadh fell into a trap and exploded in the Bandarmudhe river.

35 civilians and 3 Nepali soldiers were killed in the incident. 73 civilians were injured. In their memory, the Bandarmudhe memorial has been built in Madi-6. Sita Bohara of Bharatpur-9 says that she will choose a candidate who will contribute to development.

‘Bharatpur transformed development in 5/7 years. Everyone understands who did it. We should vote for a leader who improves roads, hospitals, and provides facilities to women,’ she said. 

Radhika Thapa of Bharatpur says that voters should choose a new candidate because they are disgusted with the old parties and their leaders. ‘No one will spend their own money on development. It will be done with the state’s money,’ she said, ‘We should also give the new one a chance.’ 

Her supporters say that the then Mayor Renu Dahal took the initiative to bring the state budget and spent it on development.

Leaders and activists of other parties, however, accuse Babu Pushpa Kamal Dahal of bringing the budget only within the metropolis and doing injustice in other places.

Gautam's supporters claim that since the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had won two other constituencies in Chitwan earlier, its impact will also be felt in Chitwan-3 this time.

Santosh Dawadi of Bharatpur-13 says that the results cannot be predicted right now as the party's organizational votes and the individual votes received by the candidate will be the same. 'Organizationally, the Congress, UML, NCP and RSS are also not weak. 

But the atmosphere across the country seems different. A new party has also fielded candidates,' he says, 'Voters' sympathy for Renu Dahal is also visible.' He predicts that there will be a fierce competition as Sobita is also expanding its influence. 

Shankar Thapaliya of UML and Tek Prasad Gurung of Congress say that they will win the election with the strength of organization. Deepak Thapa Magar of RPP also claims to win.

Vikram Pandey, the winner of the 2079 election, has made a public statement that he has picked Deepak to give a chance to the youth in line with the spirit of the Gen-G movement. Pandey is campaigning for the election with Deepak.